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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 305-03
October 28, 2003

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TASK FORCE PRESENTS REPORT TO MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG

"Enhancing New York City's Emergency Preparedness"

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today received the New York City Emergency Response Task Force’s report on the City’s response to the August blackout, entitled “Enhancing New York City’s Emergency Preparedness.” The week following the blackout, which was the biggest power failure to hit New York City since 1977, the Mayor appointed the Task Force to review the City’s response to the outage and make recommendations on how the City can be even better prepared going forward.  The report includes analysis of the City’s response and 35 recommendations. The Mayor has asked Agency Commissioners to review the recommendations and, if feasible, draft plans for implementation.  The Task Force was co-Chaired by Susan Kupferman, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, and Andrew Alper, President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.  

“Although New York City’s response to the blackout was outstanding, there are always lessons to be learned so we can do things even better the next time,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “I would like to thank the members of the New York City Emergency Response Task Force for their service and again thank the people of this City for making the Big Apple shine when the lights went out.”

The Task Force conducted extensive outreach to the private and non-profit sectors, as well as to other governmental entities.  The entities contacted included other states and municipalities, educational institutions, private industry groups, relief organizations, regional transportation providers, transportation organizations representing users, advocacy groups and academia. The Task Force also conducted a public outreach survey that appeared on the City’s website in English and Spanish, and was available through the 311 Citizen Service Center.  The survey was posted from September 12th through September 18th and 3,700 survey responses were received.

The Task Force’s report focuses on the following six areas of the City’s response
and makes the 35 recommendations based on the preceding analysis;  the recommendations range from strengthening the City’s command center structure and communications systems to easing overcrowding at Manhattan ferry piers and protecting vulnerable populations.

  • Emergency Response: Mobilization and coordination of agency resources.

  • Business Continuity: Maintenance of critical functions within the public and private sectors, including backup power, telecommunications, and essential workforce.

  • The City as Employer: Ability of agencies to evacuate and communicate with their employees, especially employees required to ensure essential City services.

  • Communications: Efficacy of communications within agencies, between agencies, to the City's businesses and to and from the public, including the infrastructure that supported these communications and the availability of information to key decision-makers.

  • Transportation: Ability of people to move within, out of and into the City when various forms of transportation are impaired.

  • Public Health, Safety and Preparedness: Availability of safe food, water, shelter and other services required to ensure public safety.

In addition to the co-Chairs, the other members of the Task Force were: Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, Senior Vice President, United Way of New York City; Stanley Brezenoff, President and COO, Continuum Health Partners, Inc.; John Gilbert, Executive Vice President and COO, Rudin Management, Inc.; Charles Maikish, Executive Vice President, JP Morgan Chase; Gino Menchini, Commissioner, New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications; Virginia Mewborn, Senior Director, Emergency Services, American Red Cross in Greater New York; Sam Schwartz, President, The Sam Schwartz Company; Ben Tucker, Chief Executive, School Safety and Planning, New York City Department of Education.

The Mayor also thanked NYC & Company, the Real Estate Board of New York and the Partnership for New York City for their invaluable input and assistance.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler / Jordan Barowitz   (212) 788-2958




More Resources
Read the Emergency Response Task Force's Report